We are taking a break

We regret that due to unavoidable reasons, we need to take a break. We'll not have our regular postings in next two weeks. Regular postings will resume on April 10th. In the mean-time, you may go through our past postings on various topics of interest. We suggest that you use the search box on top to search for past postings on topics of your interest (e.g. 'Mathematica', 'Matlab', 'Fluid simulation', etc...)

Abel Prize

Lennart Carleson

The world's most prestigious Mathematics prize has been awarded to a Swedish researcher for his work on wave patterns. Professor Lennart Carleson of the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden was awarded the Abel Prize 'for his profound and seminal contributions to harmonic analysis and the theory of smooth dynamical systems,' as stated by the International Abel Committee. Everything from the vibration of violin strings to the spread of heat through a metal bar can be viewed as sums of simple wave patterns, oscillating sine and cosine waves. This led to the branch of mathematics known as harmonic analysis.

He also solved the so-called corona problem, which looks at structures that show up around a disc when the disc itself is hidden. An example might be the corona of the Sun seen during an eclipse, when it's hidden by the Moon. The prize, which is awarded by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, is often described as the 'Nobel' prize for Mathematics.

The prize rules say it should aim to spur interest in mathematics among children and young people. So far, all winners of the prize have been in their 70s. Norway`s King Harald will present the $920,000 Abel Prize to Carleson during a May 23 ceremony in Oslo.

Calculations via Graphics Card

Graphics chip developer Nvidia and physics specialist Havok have announced they will be showing off some new software technology at the Game Developers Conference next week in San Jose, California. Running physics calculations through a graphics GPU is not a new idea, it’s been mooted for Xbox 360 – it’s perfectly possible for part of the console’s ATI GPU being fenced-off and used for physics rather than graphical calculations.

Now the concept is being put into practice by Nvidia and Havok. At the GDC the companies will unveil something called Havok FX, which will enable games to run physics calculations through graphics cards supporting Shader Model 3.0 such as the GeForce 6 and 7 cards.

With Havok FX, a gaming system can simulate thousands of colliding rigid bodies, said Nvidia, calculating friction, collisions, gravity, mass and velocity. This lets game developers program their titles to handle complex debris, smoke and fluid effects without bogging down the computer’s CPU. Nvidia says the technology is particularly well suited for computers that are equipped with more than one graphics card connected using Nvidia’s Scalable Link Interface (SLI) technology, which enables multiple Nvidia graphics processors to share the burden of rendering 3D graphics.

Caltech: "Project Mathematics"

"Project Mathematics" provides fantastic videotape and workbook modules and explores and explains basic topics in high school mathematics using live action, music, special effects, and imaginative computer animation.

Tom M. Apostol, Emiratus Professor of Mathematics at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) is the main architect behind this very successful effort. The tapes (also available in PAL format) are distributed on a nonprofit basis.

Currently production of the DVD versions is underway. For purchasing copies of these videos or for looking at previews on various topics click on the website of Project Mathematics

Algebra Challenge

'Carnegie Learning' is a leading provider of core, full-year mathematics programs as well as supplemental intervention applications for middle school and high school students. Today Carnegie Learning, Inc. announced the Carnegie Learning Bridge to Algebra Challenge, a 5-week evaluation of the company's Cognitive Tutor(R) algebra readiness curriculum for middle school and high school students preparing for Algebra I. The Bridge to Algebra is designed specifically for students whose past math performance indicates little chance of success in Algebra I.

The Bridge to Algebra Challenge is limited to the first 500 registrant schools and requires a simple online registration at www.carnegielearning.com/challenge. Each trial allows up to 30 students access to Carnegie Learning's Bridge to Algebra software at no cost. Schools will receive customer support and access to Carnegie Learning technical support staff throughout the evaluation period.

The Bridge to Algebra Challenge begins on April 24, 2006 and extends through the end of May. Participants may elect to have the software and implementation materials shipped to them in mid-April or they may begin their trial two weeks early if they pre-register to download the Bridge to Algebra software on April 10. The Bridge to Algebra software is simple to install and runs on both Windows (98, ME, 2000, XP, or NT 4.0) and Mac (OSX 10.3 or higher) operating systems.

MVT : U. Colorado

The University of Colorado has a set of web-based Mathematics simulations. These are simple but very effective and useful.

The Department of Applied Mathematics of the University has also developed Java-based Mathematical Visualization Toolkit (MVT) .

It is a good endeavor involving university students and these freely downloadable tools are great to have and use.